9-3-18<\/p>\n
Occasionally, maybe more than occasionally if your friendships run a certain way, you chat with religious skeptics or unbelievers. How do your conversations go?<\/p>\n
The vast majority of humankind \u2013 those who believe in God, or who regard Him in any manner at all \u2013 spends a great portion of their \u201cfaith lives\u201d explaining themselves to Him. Justifying themselves\u2026 asking for forgiveness\u2026 praying. Explaining themselves, their lives, to God.<\/p>\n
But there are people \u2013 pastors, priests, teachers, writers, Christian friends \u2013 who take it upon themselves to justify God and God\u2019s ways to humankind, or one-on-one to friends.<\/p>\n
And a smaller number of people, quite a small group, unfortunately, explain the nature of God, the ways of God, to humankind and to friends when the opportunities arise. Explain, defend, educate \u2013 not \u201cjustify\u201d (which depends on our<\/em> points of view, not His, really). This group is known as \u201capologists.\u201d<\/p>\n We are not apologizing<\/em> for anything \u2013 how could we apologize, in the contemporary meaning of the word \u2013 for God Almighty? Make excuses for His ways? No…<\/p>\n The root of the word \u201capologetics\u201d is the concept closer to \u201cdefending.\u201d In the Bible, a letter by Peter to persecuted young Christians in Asia Minor (I Peter 3:15) says, If you should suffer for righteousness\u2019 sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is within you: yet do it with gentleness and respect.<\/em><\/p>\n In this passage \u2013 advice that comes down to us through the ages \u2013 the defense (not excuse; not justification; not softened explanation) was originally apologia<\/em>. We must defend God to those who do not know the Truth!<\/p>\n When people ask about \u201creasons\u201d for God\u2019s workings, or our mature faith, in the letter, that was the word logos<\/em>, from which many of our familiar words come.<\/p>\n So by Christian apologetics, we defend God by reason and evidence.<\/p>\n Is this such a big deal? Defend? Explain? Persuade? Didn\u2019t Paul say to be all things to all people? Shouldn\u2019t we relate to people in ways they understand?<\/p>\n It is<\/em> a big deal. You might adopt the pose of explaining away what you think are superficial inconsistencies in the Godhead; or His a<\/em>cts from one millennium to another; or whether He is vengeful or loving; or whether His plan of salvation seems fair. If so \u2013 if you mistakenly believe that God needs your help by contradicting His Holy Word \u2013 go ahead, but\u2026 by the way, you are enabling someone\u2019s descent to hell. If not your own. You would be excusing God, distorting His essence, polluting His message, denying His sovereignty\u2026 all while your puny self is misunderstanding Him, and insulting Him.<\/p>\n Defending<\/em> God instead of explaining or justifying Him immediately assures your listener (and reassures yourself!) that Truth is Truth. There is no need to devise explanations or justifications. It is<\/em>. Just like God said, \u201cI am<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n And the truth of the Truth does not depend on our opinion of it. Nor our explanation, which is bound to be faulty; nor our justification, which is limited by our human ability to reason. God merely needs defense \u2013 (word origins again!) not against arrows and darts; but requires no-nonsense, no-doubt, presentations by reason and evidence.<\/p>\n God does not require our clever justifications. Which makes the calling of the Apologist unique. <\/p>\n So we rely on God\u2019s Word and the evidence in our hearts \u2013 we know that God is real; he lives within us! We know that we know that we know. I tell you, that confidence<\/em> has persuaded more skeptics to accept Christ than any stack of scientific charts and graphs.<\/p>\n We can turn to historical evidence. Or the thousands of fulfilled prophecies. Or the surprising number, lately, of archaeological discoveries that confirm Bible accounts.<\/p>\n We rely, better, on the changed lives, the miracles we witness, the gifts believers exercise. And, yes, the blood of martyrs.<\/p>\n Who would die for a lie? <\/p>\n Millions would not; millions have not; millions do not. But people do die to defend the Truth. <\/p>\n Apologetics, when you read or hear, or if you choose that particular path of sharing the Gospel, is sometimes a rare and lonely profession. But it is the first step to disciple friends; a necessary component of evangelizing strangers. To defend Someone and Something that, ultimately, needs no defense? Yes.<\/p>\n We<\/em> know that, but the world does not. So we engage in Christian apologetics. It\u2019s what lonely and brave Paul did at Mars Hill. It\u2019s what Jan Hus and Martin Luther did against the raging establishments\u2026 of church bureaucrats. It\u2019s what millions of Christians in Communist and Muslim countries do, in our world today.<\/p>\n Can we at least do the same thing at family dinners\u2026 at school board meetings\u2026 in political discussions?<\/p>\n + + +<\/p>\n